It is a case of back to the past for Dunedin club tennis as the two-tier system of recent seasons has been scrapped.
The format saw a separate competition (the Shield) while tertiary students were in town, with the President’s Cup sandwiched between early November and mid-February when the students were largely absent.
However, club delegates had problems starting as early as the first week of September and not ending until mid-April, as the season overlapped with other sports.
So it was decided to start in early October and finish before Easter, with a single trophy at stake.
Meanwhile, the women have retained their two-person team format, having started in early September indoors when the students are here, and will revert to joining men’s division two on Saturdays, with the top few challenging for division one spots.
The club season starts today following the most successful Otago Indoor Open ever, which attracted players from all around the country.
The features of this year’s competition are the inclusion of North Otago and two teams from Otago Boys’ High School, made up of a mixture of present pupils and former students or coaches.
North Otago will use Dunedin coach Shaun Paringatai as a guest player and he is backed by current representative players including Robin Jamieson and Josh Dalziel, with Belinda Hurst and Mackenzie Phillips as backup.
The school-based teams can call on another coach in Mat McCutcheon and old boy George Alexander, while the very talented Manawa Rakete-Shea has returned, along with Jason So.
Current pupils from the team that made the South Island playoffs are Thomas Jiang, Ayoub Ahmad, Zane Gray, Henry Dickson and Angus Faulks.
Eastern Harbour has also gone back to the past to take its historical name of Anderson’s Bay, a name which was changed when the team moved to Bayfield High School. Ryan Eggers, Gavin Mockford, Lachie Kenneally and Henry Hailes have been named.
Taieri will be strong in the top order while Otago Open titleholder Charlie Tomlinson is available and Carlos Reid will contest the top position with him. Veterans Phil Williams and Craig Buskin will be backed up by Jake Jamieson and Eli Newall. However, Taieri could struggle for depth.
Balmacewen has good depth, while Nelson student Henry Neas is here and will be led again by Paddy Ou. It has also named former Canterbury and North Otago player Shane Keenan as well as Nick Cutfield and Will Bourne. Rileigh Fields and Ilana Goossens could also stake a claim.
St Clair has added Jake Ellis and again will be led by Mitchell Sizemore, the highest-ranked Otago player, as well as the experienced Jeff Elliotte. Veterans Tony Ryder and Robin Versteeg are back and this team will be attempting to add the Shield to the President’s Cup they won last season.
